Eternal
by kronos army
Summary: Harry Potter is dead. Now, read as Harry enters a new challenge, he has to live life again and again in different bodies, the only constant being Tom Riddle. From his guide, to his enemy, from his father to his brother, from his friend to even his lover, Harry and Tom do battle across the ages. Can they break Fate's curse? Do they even want too?
1. Prologue

Eternal

Silence. That's all that greeted Harry as he died. No Dumbledore. No parents. No friends. Not even Albus, his son had died fighting the newest Dark Lord some ten years previously. Harry shivered at the cold that whipped around the now deserted King's Cross. No trains were there. It was darkness, not searing light anymore. Wait a minute…cold? He was dead, how could he feel the cold?

"You're not dead you know." A voice called out from the darkness. It was a soft and inviting voice and sounded vaguely familiar. Harry couldn't help but feel a sense of dread.

Harry looked around for the source as they stepped forwards, out of the shadows. He only needed to look into the other person's eyes to know who it was. He couldn't be here! He was dead! Reduced to worse than the most pitiful creature, yet he was here, whole and looking at Harry with some amusement.

"Voldemort." Harry spat, reaching for a non-existent wand.

"Actually, it's Tom Riddle." Voldemort said calmly, looking at Harry with mild interest "Voldemort is gone. Now, do you want to know why I am here to greet you, Potter?"

"To kill me?" Harry said pointedly.

Riddle's read eyes shone with amusement/

"My dear Harry, you're already dead. Well, technically you're not; oh it's all very confusing isn't it? You are dead, yet you can return to the world of the living, if you so choose."

"I can go back to life?" Harry asked, confused.

"Of course you can, not as Harry Potter, of course. As Marcus Black, the illegitimate grandson of Regulus Black."

"Say I go back though, what's in it for you, Riddle?" Harry asked, genuinely wondering what Riddle's ulterior motive was. Probably something to do with survival Harry thought.

"Firstly, you have little choice in the matter. As Master of Death, you can either go back to life as Marcus Black and live the long, happy life you deserve, or you stay trapped in this hellish place for all eternity, the light never turning on, the cold never fading, with only me as company. Secondly, you do this and I get to be your guide in life, a form of ghost I shall be, visible only to you."

"Like Quantum Leap?" Harry asked.

"Quantum what?" Riddle enquired.

"Never mind, continue." Harry said

"Finally, if you succeed and live a long happy life, when you die and pass on to the next adventure, I get to go with you, away from this and on to eternal peace. That's my reason for doing this, Potter. I knew you'd guess I had an ulterior motive in all of this.

"Why not just cross now?" Harry asked.

"Because I can't. Fate, the one who engineered this, cursed me when I arrived here, I cannot cross over until you do, so for both our sakes, please try to succeed Potter."

With that, Riddle waved his hand and Harry's world went black.

As Harry awoke he heard screams. Looking around, he realised the cries were coming from his own mouth, looking down; he saw he had small, meaty arms and even smaller meaty fingers.

"Riddle!" He cursed inside his head.

Suddenly, he heard a voice inside his head.

"Hello to you too Harry. Or should I say, Marcus?"

"What did you do to me, Riddle?"

"I?" Came a voice to his right, looking over, he saw a ghostly form of Voldemort in the room, his new mother and midwife didn't notice anything as Marcus was cradled in her arms. "I did nothing, Fate, however, decided you were to continue I'm here to guide you in your boring, mundane life."

"Hang on; you're saying I'm a muggle?"

"Correct. No wizards here to pester you with pleas for help and whatever. Now, sleep." Riddle said as Marcus closed his eyes.


	2. Marcus Black Meet Michael Henderson

Eternal

Marcus Black

Life was a dream for Marcus. His family was rich, Regulus had converted galleons into muggle money before Marcus' father was born and they still had around £3 million. He was rich, handsome, had lots of love and had the attention of many, everywhere he went.

Of course, Marcus would have found it hard to adapt to this new life, maybe even impossible, if it wasn't for Riddle. He was there whenever Marcus wanted him, ready to teach him and guide him. It was a perfect partnership. Considering Tom didn't want him dead anymore, Marcus found him to be an alright guy.

When Marcus was five, he had a fight with some other boys in the playground, he fought well against several of them, before one of them snuck up behind him and sent him flying through the air. This one was small, yet the respect the others showed him told Marcus he was in charge. The boy had only moved his hand, and Marcus's eyes widened in surprise. He decided he would wait until he could corner the boy alone, then he'd tell him about magic.

Marcus hid behind the school bins that night, until about 3:20 when the boy came out, a sneer upon his face.

"I despise this place." He sighed to himself, getting ready to walk home.

"Hey." Marcus said, surprising the boy, who whirled around, anger in his eyes, and dropping into a fighting stance. "Easy, I don't want to fight. I saw what you did to me earlier."

"Oh yeah, who're you going to tell? Stuff like that doesn't happen. You're crazy." The boy huffed and walked off.

"No, it's called magic. You're a wizard."

"And you are too?" the boy asked, shocking Marcus as he appeared to already know he was a wizard.

"No, I'm a muggle. But why are you here if you're a wizard?" Marcus asked, intrigued.

"You're a muggle?! How do you know about wizards? How do you know about muggles?"

"I just do ok, what's your name anyway? I'm Marcus Black."

"I shouldn't really say my name, my dad may hate me, and my mum is never home, yet I'm kinda famous among wizards for something my grandfather did. If I told you, I could be kidnapped. Anyway, you're a Black? That's an old wizard line that died out about a hundred years ago; I'm their youngest living descendant."

"No you're not. I am. I'm the illegitimate grandson of Regulus Black, so technically I could claim the vaults, but as a muggle it'd be kinda hard."

"Regulus Black? He died over a hundred years ago. You can't possibly be his grandson!"

"I am though, so my parents must be older than I thought they are. I guessed they were about 40, I guess 70 may be closer, for my dad at least. He's Regulus's son."

"I really shouldn't be discussing the wizarding world with you. Tell you what, come see me here tomorrow at 4, and I'll tell you all I can." The boy said, looking at Marcus as they reached the boys house. It was quite luxurious, almost as good as Marcus's.

"Deal, I never caught your name anyway, what is it?"

"Michael Henderson."

"Henderson? That's not a wizarding line is it?"

"No, my mum is the witch out of my two parents, and my dad dislikes magic. My mum's maiden name is why I'm a bit famous. Well, I only get admiration and questioned about my grandfather or my mother, who is a Potions Mistress. It annoys me to no end sometimes."

"I know how you feel." Marcus said, remembering the times the paparazzi had stalked him because he was the heir to the quite wealthy Black line. If only they knew its true wealth in the Wizarding World.

"I like you kid, I'll see you tomorrow. Oh I remember now, I never told you my mother's maiden name. It's Potter."

Michael closed the door as Marcus looked on in shock. Lily was still alive! His daughter Lily was still alive! He wanted to race in after Michael and tell her who he was, yet he knew he mustn't, slightly dejectedly, he started to walk away, until suddenly there was someone in front of him.

"Hello Marcus, forgot to tell me something?" Riddle asked.


	3. A Riddle In Itself

Eternal

A Riddle In Itself

"So what happened Marcus?" Riddle asked, looking at Marcus with amusement.

"Nothing you need to worry yourself about Tom." Marcus growled, looking at Tom in anger.

"Yet I think it is something that I am to worry myself about." Riddle said, reaching over to grab Marcus' wrists as he walked past. The cold air that Marcus felt as Riddle's hand passed through his wrist made him shiver.

"No, it's really not_ Thomas."_ Marcus sneered, seeing the anger on Riddle's face.

Riddle muttered something unintelligible before vanishing from sight, leaving Marcus alone with his thoughts, the more he dwelled on it, the more depressed he became. He'd met his grandson, yet he wouldn't have anything more than possible friendship with him, he would probably never speak to his daughter again, and he'd pissed Tom off, the ghost of Riddle had vanished, probably back to the never space to cool down. Marcus hoped he wouldn't be too long; he liked talking to Tom, when he wasn't running for his life from him, anyway.

Marcus walked through the streets until he reached his family home, Black Manor. A fifteen bedroom manor house, with a sixteenth century appearance, complete with an Olympic sized swimming pool, archery field and 15 acres of land. It was a heaven for Marcus to live in. He walked through the door and called his hello to his parents as he trudged up the stairs and threw his stuff onto his massive bedroom floor. He went to collapse on his four-poster bed, decked out in red and gold, reminding him of his time in Gryffindor, when he noticed someone already on the bed, looking at the Gryffindor hangings in distaste. Riddle.

"Hello again Marcus." Tom said stiffly.

"Look, Tom. I'm sorry, ok? I was an idiot and I didn't mean to be so short with you. I found out the most life changing news however, and I was wrapped up in my thoughts."

"So, what is it young lion?" Tom asked, looking intrigued.

"You know the boy I fought with earlier? Michael Henderson?"

"He's a wizard." Tom stated.

"Yeah and...Hang on, you knew?!"

"That he was a wizard? Of course, I am magically powerful after all, I can sense when someone has magic. I was hoping you'd figure it out yourself, maybe you can help him?"

"No need, he's a half-blood so he should know some things at least already. No, the main news I have for you is much bigger, and it's why I was in a mood. I'm upset that I can't ever talk to her, I guess. If I could let her know who I was, I'd either make her really angry or really happy."

"Make who angry or happy?" Tom asked, confused now.

"Lily! My daughter! She's Michael's mother! He's a Potter!"

"Oh." Tom said, realising why Marcus was in such a mood now.

"I don't know what to do, should I tell him that I'm his grandfather reincarnate?"

"I wouldn't, it could be awkward and it may lose your friendship with him, especially if he doesn't believe you."

"Yeah I know what you're saying Tom, I was hoping though that I could get to know him better."

"Well do that then, just don't tell him who you are."

"I'm glad now Tom at least." Marcus said.

"Why is that?" Tom asked, wondering.

"As I now have a true connection to the life I left behind again, you know, apart from being a Black." Marcus said, not noticing Tom's reaction of shock and disappointment, before he flashed away again.

"Tom?! Where are you? Is something the matter?" Marcus asked, seeing Tom was gone. Where had he gone? Why was he gone? That was a riddle in itself.


	4. A Trip Down Memory Lane

Eternal

(AN: Tom doesn't love Harry, at least, not yet. He's still very much about self-preservation and believes that if Harry embraces his new Muggle life or his old wizard life too much, he'll forget all about him, and Tom thinks if Harry forgets about him, he'll have failed to guide him and he'll be trapped in Limbo forever)

Marcus wondered where Tom had disappeared too for days, missing the visits from his guide. Tom Riddle may have been a bastard, yet Marcus still missed him all the same. He was the only one who could know what Marcus was feeling all the time, after all, they were the only ones who had lived a whole life before this; it was natural for Marcus to have such a connection and attachment to him, wasn't it? Whilst Marcus fought inside himself, trying to figure out why Tom had gone, Tom was currently floating around; looking through the wreck of what was once Riddle Manor. It had finally given way and collapsed after a house fire some fifty years previously, long after his own death even. Tom looked through the remains at the ash that once was his father's ancestral home. From the guest room where Wormtail had assisted him long ago, when he had killed the Muggle caretaker, to the drawing room where he had ended the Riddle line. How Tom remembered that day, more vividly than most.

He saw in his mind, if he could even call it that, after all, he had no body of his own, a young boy, about 16, tall, dark-haired and pale, ascend the hill towards the house on the hillside with rapid speed, until he reached the front door of Riddle Manor. He knew these people were vain and arrogant, from the week of scouting he had done beforehand, it would not do for his plan to fail after all, after so many years of designing his vengeance. Even whilst all of this was many years ago, and he had forgiven many of the wrongs the world had inflicted on him, he still remembered the rage he felt on that day, although he tried to atone all those years for his many horrors, he still never truly felt remorse for this one great act.

He knocked on the door, employing the acting talents and the poor yet brilliant orphan boy act that he knew would work so well, as much as these people cared only for themselves, they loved their reputation, if an orphan came knocking for a bite to eat, and they wouldn't turn them away. The oldest man, Thomas Riddle opened the door and Tom adopted his look of anguish and hopelessness.

"Please sir, may I have a bite to eat. I'm a poor orphan and my parents were killed in the bombings. Please can I stay here? I'm too young to enlist and I can't get anyone to take me in, please, sir? I think I might die if I don't, and the lovely lady in the village told me to ask you."

Thomas Riddle was a pig, yet he was a pig who loved his image, so he played the caring neighbour and invited the boy in, calling his son and wife into the drawing room to meet their guest, whilst thinking of how he would ruin this villager for sending the child to them.

"What is your name, young man? This is my son, Tom, my wife, Jane, and my name is Thomas Riddle."

"Yes, I know who you all are." Tom said, turning to look his Muggle relatives in their eyes, they shuddered at the pure hate that was directed at them, and the high, cold tone the young boy had adopted.

"Have you ever heard of the Gaunt family?" Tom asked, looking at his father in particular.

"Those tramps in the village?" Jane asked, fixing Tom with a beady eye "Why would we care about them? Our son got shot of the wanton tramp and hopefully that idiot son will die soon enough of his drink." She laughed at the expressions of agreement her son and husband had, but all three sobered when Tom fixed them with hateful glares again.

"She told you she was pregnant didn't she? Then you claimed you were bewitched when you left her, _Riddle._" Tom spat the name out like it was acid on his tongue. "Did you ever wonder, when she never returned, when you heard news that she had died, that perhaps she wasn't lying?"

"Why would I care?" Riddle asked Tom, recognition slowly dawning in his small brain.

"Oh yes, you finally figured the truth." Tom said as the three Riddle's looked at him in utmost horror. "Hello, Father. AVADA KEDAVRA!" Tom roared three times, wheeling around to slay the Riddle's were they stood. It was over so quickly, they didn't realise anything had happened until all three fell to the floor, dead. Tom looked upon the scene with glee, before leaving, towards the Gaunt shack once more, to claim his ancestral ring, and his second horcrux.

Tom was pulled from his memories as he looked around at the place once again. His horcruxes, once the thing that made him the greatest wizard alive, now, they were what damned him to this life of pitiful non-existence. Tom knew if he could ever change his decision to do that, if he could ever stop himself from making the horcruxes, he knew he would do it in a heartbeat.

Tom was pulled from his thoughts as he felt a slight tug, knowing it was Fate's way of telling him that Marcus needed him, like a flash he was gone, back to the town Marcus lived in now. There he saw Marcus entering the Henderson household, where he knew Lily Potter was. Slowly following Marcus inside, he saw Lily Potter come to greet her son's new friend, and Marcus stand and hug her, seeing her confusion, Marcus opened his mouth to speak, and Tom knew he must act, he suddenly appeared in front of Marcus, shocking him.


End file.
